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Rouge Ramble 60 km Populaire

Toronto managed to get the first ride of the season in on March 18 despite some questionable weather. Erin, Joey, Brian N, with new-comers Max and Leland braved the rain and wind to enjoy scenic urban Scarborough. The route generally follows the Waterfront Trail, and navigation can be quite tricky, especially where the trail cuts through parks. This time of year, there’s always a concern that trail sections in parks will have snow and ice on the path. But, other than one short section, our roads were bare and wet (so very wet).

We had our first major mechanical of the season when Joey’s rear derailleur cable snapped, dropping his chain into the smallest cog for the rest of the ride. It had the effect of ensuring he was the first up every hill though.

As we got closer to the section along the lake, we could hear what sounded like a train passing by. Once we cleared the last dune, all we could hear was the wind and surf pounding into the beach. Surf isn’t something we get to see a lot of on our rides, so it was pretty cool. The somewhat less than ideal weather did mean we had the trail mostly to ourselves.

The ride was an excellent demonstration of the mantra that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. I think our newbies went shopping for shoe covers right after the ride.

The plan is to keep offering this ride every spring. If you haven’t done it, you should make the effort to come out as it’s a real change from our typical countryside routes.